Excavation machines can be used for mining applications and general earth moving operations. Excavation machines generally include rope fastened to a socket and a wedge to support other equipment such as a dragline bucket. A wedge may sit within a socket in which a rope is passed through the socket, looped around the wedge, and passed back out of the socket.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,103,409 to Dreixler et al. discloses a readily releasable wedge assembly for holding a wire rope in a socket. The readily releasable wedge assembly comprises first and second wedge components and a release assembly. The first and second wedge components are joined together adjacent respective first ends thereof at a pin connection. The first and second wedge components have respective second ends opposite the first ends, which are spaced from the first ends in a longitudinal direction. The first and second wedge components are pivotable relative to each other about the pin connection and together define an outer periphery shaped to receive a wire rope. The release assembly is positioned between the second ends of the wedge components. The release assembly is threadedly actuatable to release the first and second wedge components from an expanded position and reconfigure the wedge assembly into a contracted position allowing the wedge assembly to be removed from a socket.
The present disclosure is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discovered by the inventors or that is known in the art.